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Canadian Bill of Rights, Prime Minister John DIEFENBAKER's pathbreaking 1960 HUMAN RIGHTS charter, applied only to federal law because the requisite provincial consent was not obtained. It recognizes the rights of individuals to life, liberty, personal security and enjoyment (not "possession," which is provincial) of property. Deprivation of these is forbidden "except by due process of law." It protects rights to equality before the law and ensures protection of the law; protects the freedoms of religion, speech, assembly and association, and the press; and legal rights such as the rights to counsel and "fair hearing."
Laws are to be construed and applied so as not to detract from these rights and freedoms. One of the bill's weaknesses was that many judges regarded it as a mere interpretative aid. Section 2 provides that Parliament can override the mentioned rights by inserting a "notwithstanding" clause in the applicable statute; this has been done only once, during the 1970 OCTOBER CRISIS. To the extent that it is not superseded by the 1982 CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS, the bill remains in effect. See also DRYBONES CASE; LAVELL CASE.
 Diefenbaker's Bill of RightsPrime Minister Diefenbaker displaying the Bill of Rights of 1958 (D. Cameron/National Archives of Canada/PA-112659).
Author
W.H. MCCONNELL
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Browse the rich visual resources of The Canadian Encyclopedia through thematic galleries of Canadian Art, History, Nature, People, and Science and Technology.
Illustrations, lively text, animations, sounds and games help make learning about Canadian history, art, geography, architecture and other topics entertaining as well as informative.
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This selection of the 100 "greatest" events in Canadian history was made by editor in chief James H. Marsh to draw attention to events that have left an indelible memory in the minds of later generations.
| THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MUSIC IN CANADA |
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| Linda (Jane) Manzer. Guitar builder, b Toronto, 2 Jul 1952. She studied briefly at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax and apprenticed 1974-8 with Jean Larrivée in Toronto and Victoria. Establishing her ... |
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